​When we first got word Friday morning that the 23-year-old suspect in the murder of a Utah police officer was hiding out in a six-square-mile section of the Arizona desert, we figured he'd be in custody before lunch.

Despite hundreds of cops swarming the area, that suspect, Scott Curley, stayed on the run far longer than we expected, but was arrested early this morning just north of the Arizona/ Utah border.

According to authorities, just after midnight, police got a call from a man in Lost Springs, Utah, saying a man with a rifle slung over his shoulder was trying to break into his house.

When police arrived they found an exhausted Curley and took him into custody just before 1 a.m. today.

Curley is suspected of murdering Kane County Sheriff's Deputy Brian Harris, 41, on Thursday after a brief foot pursuit.

Police in Kane County say Curley was a familiar face among officers and was wanted in a string of burglaries -- many of which were schools -- where he stole weird things like a big box of burritos.

It was following one of those burglaries that Harris and other officers caught up with Curley and chased him -- on foot -- across the Arizona/ Utah border, where he's believed to have shot the officer with a high-powered rifle.

It's believed that Curley took off to a remote section of the Arizona desert, where he'd stashed food in case he needed to run from the law.

Curley is being interviewed by police in Coconino County and is expected to be extradited to Utah, where he will be charged with first-degree murder.